Sterling Coffee/tea set, unknown mark

[wroyal]

Hello-
My grandmother left me a sterling coffee/tea set, and all of the pieces have this mark. The family believes it to be Reed & Barton, but I don't see these marks anywhere and it I can't find it on this site anywhere. I presume the "U.S" to be "United States", but I don't understand why there wouldn't be a mark for the manufacturer, if that's the case. All of the pieces look like this, although some also have a "16" on top of the mark, and some have "13" instead of "12". But they all have the "U.S." Can anyone help?




Thanks,
Warren

[salmoned]

Might I suggest that 'U.S. Sterling' is the name of the company and perhaps these items are plated? Seems a remote possibility, but not unique. ;)

[dognose]

Hi Warren,

Welcome to the Forum.

Seems a remote possibility, but not unique.

Indeed, it's not. Rainwater has that 'US Sterling' was noted on silver plated souvenir spoons produced for the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the San Francisco Mid-Winter Exposition in 1894.

I'm not saying this is the case with your coffee/tea set, but it would be wise to get this set checked out by a reputable jeweller to ensure that it is indeed sterling, or do a specific gravity test yourself.

Trev.

[silverly]

I can't promise that it will help, but an image of the entire teapot or set may give someone a clue to the manufacturer.

It's not much help, but the U S Sterling Co marks that I have seen do not resemble yours.

[wroyal]

I can't promise that it will help, but an image of the entire teapot or set may give someone a clue to the manufacturer.

It's not much help, but the U S Sterling Co marks that I have seen do not resemble yours.

Good idea - here are the photos of the pieces. All of them have similar marks on the bottom - although, as I said, some have a "16" on top and a "12" or "13" underneath.

It "feels" like Sterling, it is lightweight and thin. But I'm just a novice.

This is the coffee -


And these are the other pieces, including the tea -


Thanks for the help!